


Pride

by TeriH



Category: The Magnificent Seven (TV)
Genre: Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 04:39:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18613321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeriH/pseuds/TeriH
Summary: Originally published in Woolly To The Bone #9 (Neon RainBow Press, 2011)Written in response to a VinList Finish The Story ChallengeA missing scene from Achilles





	Pride

  _Vin Tanner lay quietly in the tall, lush grass as a soft breeze blew a strand of hair across his face.  An insect buzzed annoyingly at his ear and somewhere in the distance he heard a name being called, his name.  He knew he should reply, yet something held him back._

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

Pride.  Yes, if he was honest with himself it was pure, simple pride that kept him from answering Josiah's call.  Vin knew the man had seen him hightail it out of town earlier and was most likely concerned but right now he just needed time to think… -or not.

He had been lying in the grass for some time now watching the clouds drift by overhead as a red-tail hawk searched the area for some unlucky field mouse to have for dinner.  He had been trying to gather his thoughts and wasn't real thrilled with results.

It all started when the Thompson gang road into town and JD shot Miss Annie.  Granted, it was an accident but that didn't make no difference to JD, or a good portion of the town.  He knew that Buck was doing all he could for the kid, but there were some things a man just had to work out for his self.  Guess JD just figured out that life weren't always fair.

Nathan was taking the death almost as hard as JD.  It was pretty clear from the start that there was little if anything that Nathan could do for the poor girl, but the healer always looked at the death of a patient as failure.  Always wondering if there was more he could have done.

Chris was putting up a good front, but Vin knew that the senseless death of the young mother had stirred up old demons for his friend.  While wanting to back up JD, he couldn't help but sympathize with a man who had lost his wife to violence.

Pride…  JD's at being an accomplished lawman…  Nathan's in his abilities to heal….  Chris in his ability to protect his family.  They had all been reminded that they were just human.

Now, looking back over the events of the last few days, his storming out of the newspaper seemed rather childish.  Vin could see now that it was his pride that had been hurt, not once but twice.

Well, asking Ezra to write out his poem while the man was drunk was probably not a great idea, but why had he let Ezra's taunts hurt so much.  Not like everyone wouldn't know that he was a "poet," "a Homer" as Ezra had proclaimed.  If he hadn't wanted folks to know that he could write poems he would never have considered entering the contest to start with.  No he was more afraid his secret would come out.

Secrets…  They had a way of coming back to haunt you.  For better than a year Vin had hidden the fact he couldn't read or write and, with a little slip, Mary had known.  He still wasn't sure what had given him away, or why it seemed so important at the time.  Then, laying here in the grass, it had come to him…  Pride.

It wasn't unusual to see Chris or Ezra reading a book, and they all knew JD read those dime store novels.  Josiah read the good book daily, and while he had never actually seen Buck reading – he was too busy with other pursuits – Vin was pretty sure the man could.  Even Nathan, who had been a slave, had medical journals he could read.

Oh, Vin knew deep down that not one of his friends would belittle him for the fact he couldn't read.  Yet he felt a deep down shame at the fact.  It was that shame that had caused him to act like some spoiled kid when Mary had discovered his secret.

Thinking back, he realized Mary hadn't made fun of him, she had just asked a question.  The conversation played over in his mind.

" _Vin, there's nothing to be shamed of.  Lots of people don't know how to read or write."_

_"I don't need a bunch of books to teach me about life."_

Maybe he didn't need books but, if he was honest with himself, he had always felt that something was lacking, and he was ashamed.  Pride.

Vin stood and headed back to town.  He had made a decision.  First, he owed Mary an apology for his rude behavior, and then he would swallow his pride and ask a favor of the lady.  It wasn't like she didn't already know his secret.

Walking down the street, Vin felt confident about his decision.  There were many things in life that could never be changed, but this was not one of them, and he was determined to see it through.

His request to Mary was forming in his head as a disturbance down the street caught his attention.  Looking up, he smiled as his friend approached and from the man's attire it would appear Ezra had very little pride… and even fewer secrets.

 

 

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